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The Power of the Mind

The Power of the Mind I know how powerful my mind can be, but it is only in the last couple of years I have used my power for good rather than evil. For too many years my internal dialogue was along the lines of “You big fat loser” rather than “I can do anything”. I think that, more than any other change has really been the “switch that flipped”. I CAN do this. I’m smart, good at research and can put together a plan, plus the resources necessary to deliver on my plan. I am so much stronger than I thought I was. I can swim and bike and run and walk and lift weights and do kickboxing and yoga. I can build muscle. I can become lean and strong and healthy. This is so much more powerful than the negative voice. Try it and see.

The Truth About Abs is probably one of the most annoying programs I’ve ever paid money for, simply because of the volume of emails and info they dump on you. But I guess I did get my money’s worth and they do have interesting information. Some that I’ve used to good effect since today’s message was the inspiration for my post. You can read about a fairly informal study that was done that I found interesting. It talks about how focusing and thinking about what you are doing harnesses the power of your mind. This increases the impact of the physical effort you are making. Good stuff.

Forgiveness was another area where I really needed to focus. I will probably always slip to some extent. But I am finished with beating myself up over a bite of cake or a sip of beer or three french fries. I slipped, I noted it down in my journal and I moved on. I did a day of protein drinks to compensate for the extra calories and fat and to ward off any munchie attacks. I know that when I eat simple carbs without a balance of protein and fat IN THE SAME MEAL, then I can have serious cravings that can sabotage me. The only solution I’ve found is to do a Lean Protein Train or LPT as it’s called on the beforeandafterhelp.com board. After a couple of days, the danger passes.

Perfect is the Enemy I bet you could guess that I have a perfectionist flaw? Yep, I want to be perfect. For years I thought, if I can’t be perfect, why bother? This applied to my work, my life, my health and even my writing. In some areas, I learned to be what I call a non-practicing perfectionist. At work I would have to deliver and though I would nearly kill myself with long hours and tweaking, it really wasn’t ever PERFECT. I had to learn to let it go and was always surprised that no one else saw all the flaws I could see. As far as my health is concerned, it took a long time to learn that there is no perfect. There is only the best you can do and learning from your mistakes.

To the Moon, Alice! I heard a story a few years ago about the first shuttle flight to the moon. When they later analyzed the flight path, they found that they were only on course 10% of the time. The rest of the time they were constantly correcting their course. Whenever I feel like I’m falling off track, I try to remember that as long as I keep making course corrections, I can make it to my goals.

Talking Yourself Thin I am a big fan of guided imagery. I love Bella Ruth Naperstak and her Health Journeys site. I’ve used the pain, surgery, fertility, grief, depression and weight loss products. I love them. When I was first getting started, I listened to them every night. I would fall asleep thinking about myself letting go of the fat that I was using to insulate and protect myself. I don’t need that barrier anymore. I am safe. I can let go of the extra 150 pounds that was no longer protective, but killing me. This is powerful stuff. You can write or mentally rehearse a script of your own that gently talks to your body and lets it know that things have changed. There’s no longer a reason to be fat. Embrace strength and health. Your body wants to do what your mind tells it, but its a slow learner. So if I told it for years that being fat was the answer to my problem, then it may take me years of retraining before that mindset changes for good and my body is willing to let go of the fat.

Set Point Theory One of the oldest cookbooks in my vast collection of cookbooks is called “Recipes to Lower your Fat Thermostat”. It came with a kit, I think, about changing your set point. The idea is that your body gets used to being at a particular weight and you have to make changes in order to get it to move and find a new set point. At the time, way back in 1985, I didn’t pay enough attention, the switch hadn’t flipped back then. But there are some amazing recipes for really healthy eating and as I flip through it, I’m pleased to see that the way I’m eating now, is the way the book guides. The reason I dug it out is because of an interesting post on the beforeandafter.com site yesterday. It was all about how when we lose a lot of weight, we tend to get stuck or plateau at set points we were at for years. I think that has been true for me. As I’ve approached each of these previous set points, I can see that it was really difficult to get the weight loss going again. Each time I had to crank up either my exercise routine or my focus on nutrition. Now I think that part of my success was that my mind was busy convincing my body that it was okay to move past that comfortable weight.

Have a great day and check out the Melting Point on the page link at the top. I would love comments, questions or any other feedback so I know what’s missing and what I need to add.

Karen aka the Project Manager

50-something mom, wanna be writer and adventurer trying to figure out my 40+ year battle with food and eating. I’ve done every diet and even had gastric bypass – still gained it back. In 2016 I joined Overeaters Anonymous and for the first time in my life, I am peaceful about food. In November 2017 I learned about Bright Line Eating and am having success with weight loss once again.